What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Darlingtonia growing in my bog

DJ57

I am a CPaholic...
Moderator
Thought I would share some pics of some Darlingtonia growing in my bog.

Seedlings, various ages from 1 to 3 years.
8830572460_20eb59226e_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
8830572546_203f26f430_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
8830572604_935b761bf2_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]

This one is from a small piece of crown salvaged from a raccoon attack a couple years ago that I threw in the bog and did not expect to survive.
8830572354_14a58043d5_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]

This will be this guys 4th year growing in the bog (was in the old bog the first year and then transplanted to the new bog in 2011).
8830572264_4a29dd0ebc_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]

I do plan on moving all these at some point to my pond setup that has continuous flowing water through it as the cobra's seem to like it better.

Pond setup recovering from multiple raccoon attacks, I even got a flower this year! I put up some electric fencing that seems to be protecting the pond and cobras well so far.
8845352142_592b2825d8_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
8844765379_28644a7db0_z.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
 
Darlingtonia are fascinating! They look like cobras even though cobras live nowhere near them! Maybe one of them saw a photo.
 
Excellent as always DJ!
 
Awesome plants!
 
Thank you for the comments guys. I will post pics when I get the pond setup redone. I am planning on putting a small ceph from one of my leaf pulls out there and see how it does.
 
Very nice :) I just got my first Darlingtonia flower this spring as well, but the plant doesn't look quite as nice as yours at the moment.
 
Very nice :) I just got my first Darlingtonia flower this spring as well, but the plant doesn't look quite as nice as yours at the moment.

Thank you. Give yours time, it may be working on sending out some stolons. I know when mine start stolons they don't look as well.
 
  • #12
wow.. they look quite happy! Do you think cobras could survive year round in my bog here?
btw, here's a pic of the filiformis you sent me last year. Finally waking up after a long winter:
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n575/mass2256/IMG_4759_zps79372ca4.jpg

I don't know if your cobras could survive winters in the bog there, but next year I can send ya a "guinea pig" cobra to test that out. The filiformis looks great, let that puppy flower and go to seed and next year you will have a glistening forest of them out there, haha.
 
  • #13
Your setup looks amazing! I can only hope that my little seedlings will be that healthy and colorful in a few years.
 
  • #15
Your setup looks amazing! I can only hope that my little seedlings will be that healthy and colorful in a few years.

Your little seedlings look awesome, no doubt they will look great when they grow up...I would love to see pics of their progress.
 
  • #17
Beautiful Cobras, and great bog setup for that matter! Do you record the day and night temperatures that these plants experience?
 
  • #18
Beautiful Cobras, and great bog setup for that matter! Do you record the day and night temperatures that these plants experience?

Thank you.

Summer temps average around 80 degrees with occasionally a few days reaching 100+. These get roughly 6-7 hours of direct sun late spring through summer. Average winter temps range from 34 degrees to the mid 40s, but do dip into the 20s for a few days in a row a few times during winter and occasionally into the teens. When temps are below freezing at night it usually warms up to above freezing during the day, but these have experienced being encased in ice for a couple days in a row a few times when arctic fronts have rolled through at the right time. These are the mountain variety that are well adapted to even harsher winter conditions than what we get here in the Portland, Oregon, area.
 
  • #19
DJ, have you ever monitored the water temperature during heat wave events? I know Jeff (Dallas) states that water temps can get quite high with no ill effects on Darlingtonia, but I'm skeptical that the genus really likes warm water in the root zone.
 
  • #20
DJ, have you ever monitored the water temperature during heat wave events? I know Jeff (Dallas) states that water temps can get quite high with no ill effects on Darlingtonia, but I'm skeptical that the genus really likes warm water in the root zone.

:poke: Ah, you have prompted me to brave the cluttered shed and dig out (literally) a box holding some old aquarium stuff today and I found a thermometer. Today with outside temps in the high 70s and overcast skies, the water temp in the pond that feeds the water flow through the cobra setup is 67 degrees.

What I have observed visiting some wild sites in the Siskiyou mountains in summer is cobras growing in slightly-cooler-than-tepid water near the bottom of stands that go up a mountainside, water visible on the surface and exposed to full sun. The cobras tend to get smaller as they descend down mountainsides, with the smallest being at the bottom growing in water-filled ditches alongside the road. I don't know if water temps play a role in that or not, but they are huge at the top. I did not see surface water at the top of these stands, but suspect the underground spring water that feed these stands is much cooler there.

I think another factor that plays an important role in cultivated cobras is oxygenated water, perhaps more important than "cold" water, as my cobras tend to look happier growing in the pond setup with "not-that-cold" flowing oxygenated water than in the bog with no flowing water and only water poured over them one or two times a day in the hottest part of summer. Seedlings also grow better/faster with a constant flow of oxygenated water in my experience. I will try to dig up some old pics for comparison.
 
Back
Top